by James hmv London, 17/06/2015Bio"Like the legend of the Phoenix, I've just eaten a whole packet of chocolate HobNobs..."
Editor, hmv.com

E3 Day Three: Five Things We Learned

After a jam packed second day at this year's E3 conference in which Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Sony showcased their wares, on the final day it was all about Nintendo and Square Enix, although there was also a grand finale with the event's first ever PC Gaming show. Here are the main bullet points from the final day...

There's a new Zelda... but only on 3DS

Any mention of the words 'new' and 'Zelda' in the same sentence is usually enough to send most avid Nintendo fans into spasms of excitement, but although there is a new Zelda game in the pipeline in the form of Triforce Heroes, it will only be available on Nintendo's handheld platform. That might be disappointing for Wii U owners, but it makes sense given that the Japanese gaming giant is supposedly working on a new hardware platform, not to mention the fact that the size and complexity of Zelda games means that each one takes years at a time to develop.

That's not the only new 3DS game on the slate though; Nintendo also announced that a brand new Metroid game will also be arriving on the handheld platform later this year, along with Mario & Luigi Paper Jam, although the latter won't hit the shelves until 2016. Nintendo also announced that a new Xenoblade Chronicles is due to arrive in the UK before the end of the year, as well as new instalments of Method Prime and Mario Tennis, both of which should be available at some point in 2016.

There's finally a good reason for the Wii U gamepad

First mooted at last year's E3, this year's expo gave us our first proper glimpse of Star Fox Zero - Nintendo's upcoming reboot of the classic SNES game starring Fox McCloud - and suddenly everything about the Wii U's gamepad made sense. Utilising the gamepad as it was originally intended, the console's handheld screen will double up as a virtual cockpit, adding a first-person dimension to an otherwise third-person experience.

The new game is big on nostalgia and fans of the original will be pleased to see that the look and feel of the new game is very familiar – check out the new trailer below...

More news is coming on Nintendo NX, but not until 2016

The elephant in the room of Nintendo's presentation yesterday was of course the NX, but while Nintendo fans are no doubt keen for more info on the mysterious new hardware concept, they are still keeping their cards close to their chests. That's understandable; it's still very early days for the NX and Nintendo will obviously want to wait until it's ready before they start showing it off, but aware that fans would be hungry for news on this Nintendo did attempt to satisfy their appetites with some news on the project, but the news was simply that more news would be coming next year. Some fans will feel disappointed, but that's probably as much as anyone could have expected at this early stage.

Square Enix were the last of the big developers to have their say yesterday, announcing that the third Just Cause game will be dropping onto the shelves in December this year, just in time for you to start adding it to your Christmas wish list. In addition there was more showcasing of Rise of the Tomb Raider and news about a new Hitman game, which Square Enix have described as 'going back to basics'.

The developers also showcased the first gameplay trailer for Kingdom of Hearts 3, which you can find below...

Final Fantasy VII is coming to iOS devices this summer

The other big news from Square Enix on the final day of this year's E3 is that long-running fantasy epic Final Fantasy VII, which is already getting the remaster treatment, will also be coming to iPhone and iPads as early as this summer. You can find the trailer for the remastered edition of the game below...